2010 Amstel Gold Race
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Amstel Gold Race was the 45th edition of the Amstel Gold Race
classic
cycle race and took place on April 18, 2010. It was held on a 257.4 kilometres (159.9 mi) course from Maastricht to Cauberg as the sixth event of the 2010 UCI ProTour
and the tenth event in the UCI World Ranking
series. The race was won by Philippe Gilbert
, ending a 16-year wait for a Belgian victory in the race.
event, the 18 ProTour teams are automatically invited and obligated to send a squad. Six UCI Professional Continental teams round out the race's 24-team peloton.
Several riders who planned to compete in the race were unable to make it to Maastricht because of the colossal ash cloud formed by the eruption of the Icelandic Volcano Eyjafjallajökull
, which grounded flights throughout Europe
. The team most effected was Caisse d'Epargne, whose leaders Alejandro Valverde
and Luis León Sánchez
, as well as several others, were all unable to make it to the race. They start the race with only José Vicente García
, Imanol Erviti
and David López available to ride instead of the customary eight riders, and needed special permission from the UCI to allow them such a small squad. Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins
, Cervélo TestTeam captain Carlos Sastre
, and the Team HTC-Columbia duo of Craig Lewis
and Vicente Reynès
, all of whom reside in Spain, were also unable to get to Maastricht in time for the race.
There was also talk that helicopters providing live images of the race would be grounded because of the ash cloud, but the race received special permission from the Dutch transportation minister for the helicopters to fly during the race.
Amstel Gold Race
The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle race held in the southern part of the province of Limburg, Netherlands. Since 1989 it has been among the races included in season long rankings tables, as part of the UCI Road World Cup , the UCI ProTour , UCI World Ranking and from 2011 the UCI World Tour...
classic
Classic cycle races
The classic cycle races are one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. Most of the events, all run in western Europe, have been fixtures on the professional calendar for decades and the oldest ones date back to the 19th Century. They are normally held at roughly the same...
cycle race and took place on April 18, 2010. It was held on a 257.4 kilometres (159.9 mi) course from Maastricht to Cauberg as the sixth event of the 2010 UCI ProTour
2010 UCI ProTour
The 2010 UCI ProTour is the sixth series of the UCI ProTour: a series of 16 races in which the ProTour teams, considered the elite teams of the sport, participate alongside a number of invited "wildcard" teams. As in 2009, there is no competitive element to the ProTour of itself, but all its events...
and the tenth event in the UCI World Ranking
2010 UCI World Ranking
The 2010 UCI World Ranking was the second edition of the ranking system launched by the International Cycling Union in 2009. The series started with the Tour Down Under's opening stage on 19 January, and consisted of 13 stage races and 13 one-day races, culminating in the Giro di Lombardia on 16...
series. The race was won by Philippe Gilbert
Philippe Gilbert
Philippe Gilbert is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . Gilbert is a classics specialist...
, ending a 16-year wait for a Belgian victory in the race.
Teams
As the Amstel Gold Race is a UCI ProTourUCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...
event, the 18 ProTour teams are automatically invited and obligated to send a squad. Six UCI Professional Continental teams round out the race's 24-team peloton.
Several riders who planned to compete in the race were unable to make it to Maastricht because of the colossal ash cloud formed by the eruption of the Icelandic Volcano Eyjafjallajökull
2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull
The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were volcanic events at Eyjafjöll in Iceland which, although relatively small for volcanic eruptions, caused enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe over an initial period of six days in April 2010. Additional localised disruption...
, which grounded flights throughout Europe
Air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption
In response to concerns that volcanic ash ejected during the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland would damage aircraft engines, the controlled airspace of many European countries was closed to instrument flight rules traffic, resulting in the largest air-traffic shut-down since World War II...
. The team most effected was Caisse d'Epargne, whose leaders Alejandro Valverde
Alejandro Valverde
Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish road racing cyclist currently under suspension. He last rode for UCI ProTour team . Valverde's biggest wins have been the 2009 Vuelta a España, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship...
and Luis León Sánchez
Luis León Sánchez
Luis León Sánchez Gil is a Spanish road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . He is also known as Lulu Sanchez. He rode for team Liberty Seguros-Würth from 2004 until 2006, when he moved to the Caisse d'Epargne team following the collapse of the Liberty Seguros-Würth team in the wake of the Operación...
, as well as several others, were all unable to make it to the race. They start the race with only José Vicente García
José Vicente García
José Vicente García Acosta is a former Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He rode his entire career for the team last known as . In his career, he has won a stage of the Tour de France, two stages in the Vuelta a España and the GP Eddy Merckx with Abraham Olano...
, Imanol Erviti
Imanol Erviti
Imanol Erviti Ollo is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .- Palmares :20042007- External links :...
and David López available to ride instead of the customary eight riders, and needed special permission from the UCI to allow them such a small squad. Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins
Bradley Wiggins
Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE is a British professional track and road bicycle racer, currently riding for Team Sky. Wiggins' career began on the track, where he specialised in the pursuit and madison disciplines....
, Cervélo TestTeam captain Carlos Sastre
Carlos Sastre
Carlos Sastre Candil is a retired Spanish professional road bicycle racer and champion of the 2008 Tour de France. Sastre rides in 2011 for UCI Professional Continental team...
, and the Team HTC-Columbia duo of Craig Lewis
Craig Lewis (cyclist)
Craig Lewis is an American professional road bicycle racer riding for the UCI ProTeam .In 2004, while riding for , Lewis was gravely injured when he was struck by a car during an individual time trial at the Tour de Georgia...
and Vicente Reynès
Vicente Reynès
Vicente Reynès Mimo is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .-Palmarès:2003 - L.A.-Pecol2004 - Illes Balears-Banesto2005 - Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne*Paris–Nice, Stage 3...
, all of whom reside in Spain, were also unable to get to Maastricht in time for the race.
There was also talk that helicopters providing live images of the race would be grounded because of the ash cloud, but the race received special permission from the Dutch transportation minister for the helicopters to fly during the race.
Result
| Cyclist | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6h 22' 54" | ||
| 2 | + 2" | ||
| 3 | + 2" | ||
| 4 | + 5" | ||
| 5 | + 5" | ||
| 6 | + 5" | ||
| 7 | + 7" | ||
| 8 | + 9" | ||
| 9 | + 11" | ||
| 10 | + 11" |